


Playing Family [Drarry]

by yellowcat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Enemies to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2019-11-18 04:05:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18112922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowcat/pseuds/yellowcat
Summary: After the Great War, Draco reconciliates with his family, that is, until, a tragedy breaks it up again. Now, to make sure he keeps his little cousin Teddy, he will have to fake being a couple with no other than the Boy Who Lived.





	1. Autumn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter: @yelllowcat

The day started off pretty well. It wasn't raining, although the weather wasn't at its best behaviour either. Autumn had just started, and Draco really loved this season. He was wearing black pants and a cardigan. His hair was combed back, although he knew it would get messed up pretty soon.

You see, after the war ended, Draco spent a lot of time reconsidering his family, until he came to a conclusion that he needed them more than ever. So, he made up with his aunt Andromeda, that had been hated by his mother ever since she married a muggleborn. After Tonks and Lupin died, Ted, their son, was handed over to Andromeda, who was doing well taking care of a child once more. But Draco had gotten attached to his nephew, and ended up vistiting the two every single weekend.So that was where he was headed, and that's how he knew his hair gel wouldn't hold his hair back long enough, because as soon as he picked up Teddy, the little boy ruined his hair. Draco smiled at the memory of the last time he saw his nephew.

Draco lived with his parents for a couple of months after the war ended, not being able to handle the nightmares or being alone. It just so happened that he met up with Blaise Zabini, his best friend, after not seeing him for ages and suddenly they decided to move in together.The two lived in a building owned by a wizard in London that they afforded themselves with their jobs. The war ended a year and a half ago, but the only schoolmates he'd gotten news from was Blaise and his girlfriend, Pansy Parkinson.

He knew Potter visited Ted and Andromeda regularly, but never had the displeasure to encounter him. Draco picked up a few things before yelling goodbye to Blaise and leaving the apartment. The building they lived in was only for the magic community, so the lobby possessed a floo network branch. Draco picked up some of the dust from the urn on top of the fireplace, and after stepping in, he yelled the words to Andromeda's adress, which wasn't that far away. Andromeda lived where she always had. It was a small house in a calm neighbourhood. The front yard was full of flowers, a white picket TX fence surrouding it. A cemented path lead to the porch, where Jinx the cat slept lazily on a chair, enjoying the early October breeze. He knocked on the door, but didn't wait for the answer once he heard a stranger's voice inside. Draco pulled out his wand and held it in front of him, opening the creaky door. He walked inside, noticing a man's coat hanging on the coat hanger.

Draco quickly reached the kitchen, that smelled of black tea, his favourite. In the kitchen there were too many people, at least for Draco. Surrounding the wooden table, there were two Ministry employees that Draco recognized from his visits to his father at said building and, to his dismay, Harry Potter. Ted and Andromeda were nowhere to be seen.

"Potter? What are you doing here?" Draco exclaimed, shoving his wand back in his pocket.

One of the Ministry workers, a black woman, stood up to shake his hand. "Hi Draco, I'm Anwen Delaney, and this is Peter Cornell. We work in the Ministry, in the Department of The Child and Teenage Wizard," she spoke, a welsh accent ringing on her voice. "We're here because we have some things to discuss."

"Hold on, where's Aunt Andromeda? And Ted? Why is Potter here?" he rushed.

"Calm down Malfoy, I'm not so pleased to see your ugly face either. Sit down," Harry said, pointing at the chair beside him.

Draco wearily sat down, holding his back upright to try to look intimidating.

"So? What happened?" Harry asked, taking a sip of his tea afterwards.

"Well, Andromeda was in a family party, and drank too much. She tried to apparate back home, but got splinched badly. She didn't make it, not even to the hospital," Anwen said, her tone sad.

"WHAT?" Draco yelled, standing up suddenly, making his chair fall back.

Harry choked on his drink and before he could regain his senses, he was already in tears. Draco rubbed the back of his hands against his eyes furiously, trying to hold back the tears. Andromeda had been a second mum for him, and now she was dead. Gone. The thought wouldn't get past him, he couldn't bear another loss, another death. Harry sobbed quietly, his whole body shaking. Draco thought it was unfair. Potter didn't visit them every weekend. Andromeda wasn't his family, or blood. And suddenly, the thought made Draco angry. He shuffled to the sink, splashing water on his face to calm down. He took his time, remembering all the good memories he made with the two in that house. Peter and Anwen waited patiently. Surprisingly, he was the first one to regain his senses. Draco sat back down, pouring tea for himself. The hot drink soothed him, but he was still shaken up, the idea of his aunt being dead still not processed. That was until he finally realized, what the hell was going to happen to Ted? A million thoughts raced through his head, how was he supposed to take care of the kid, a 19 year old single boy? No judge would allow him to keep a one year old kid! As if they read his mind, Peter and Anwen exchanged a concerned look.

For the first time since Draco arrived, Peter spoke up, "We are terribly sorry for your loss, but we have some business to resolve."

"Stop crying, Potter, let's solve this," Draco snickered.

"I'm crying because I'm not a cold-blooded arse like you," the black haired boy answered, wiping his eyes.

"Now, about Ted. Mr. Potter, you are his godfather, and Mr. Malfoy is his cousin. Technically, you both have the same rights of keeping guard of the boy, even more because you are both 19," Peter explained. "But, that's the problem. It will be very hard to convince a judge to give a one year old boy into the hands of one who just left his diapers." Draco and Harry exchanged competitive looks between each other, as if that would solve anything. "So, we came up with an idea. Before I say it, understand this this can be one of the only ways you both can keep Ted," Anwen said, visibly trying to hold back a smile.

"Just say it," Draco said, his leg moving up and down continously under the table.

"You two have to pretend you are a couple," she said, the smile breaking through.


	2. Piece of Cake

A moment of silence fell in the kitchen before the two boys started laughing.

"That was good! You got us there," Harry said, but his smile faltered as he noticed the dead serious look on the two adults in front of him.

"I'm serious," Anwen said, speaking over Draco's giggles. "If you could let me explain."

"Oy, Malfoy! Shut up," Harry said, slapping the blonde boy on the back of the head. Draco looked offended, cussing Harry as he rubbed his head.

 "Look, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. No judge will give you a one year old child when you're single and 19 years old. Both of you love Ted, so why not? You don't have to love each other. Just fake being a couple during a social worker's visit and the trial to hand you the guard. Also you'll need a witness," Anwen explained once more.

Draco stole a glance at Harry. He knew arguing with Potter wouldn't solve much, and he could risk losing Ted. He didn't care about his job, his school of magical medicine, or the fact that he was going to fake being Potter's boyfriend. He just wanted to take care of his nephew.

"What do you say, Potter?" Draco asked, smirking. His heart was beating fast, his anxiety reaching almost a maximum level. Too much information was thrown to his face in only one day, and it was starting to settle in. No, he couldn't have a panic attack. The mourning and anxiety should be left for later. His priority now was Ted. Harry groaned, dropping his head in his hands as he tried to figure another way.

"I'm just saying, this is how you'll be able to keep Teddy," Peter said.

"Fine," Harry answered, looking at Draco with an annoyed expression for some reason.

"Okay. So this is what will happen. On Monday, you'll see the judge so they can see if you're fit for this or not. You need a witness, preferably a good friend of one of you, and you both need to act as couple-ish as you can," Anwen said, raising her eyebrows.

"Piece of cake," Draco said, leaning back on his chair to try to look chill. He was actually freaking out on the inside, but was trying to control his anxiety as hard as he could.

"We can just set days each one keeps Teddy."

"Well, there's one last thing. Social workers do surprise visits, to know if the child's being taken care of, so what happens if, on the document, it says that you both live in this house but no one's been home for ages?" Peter said.

"What are you saying?" Harry asked, confused.

"You have to move in together. Not only for the law, but also because Teddy doesn't deserve to grow up in two different houses when his family structure is already enough shaken up," Peter finished.

Draco and Harry looked at each other. A million thoughts raced through Draco's head. What was he going to tell his parents? What about his apartment with Blaise? What will Blaise think? Things had just started to settle down, the nightmares fade as he finally felt at home, and now he was supposed to move out again? But then the selfish thoughts faded. He thought of Ted, and how fun it would be to bring him up in a house like that. Draco had always loved Andromeda's house. It smelt of vanilla and was filled up with too much furniture, but he loved everything about it. From the tiny plants sitting on the windowsills on the kitchen to the various paintings Andromeda had done herself hanging on the walls. And he remembered the good times with Teddy, like when they spent a whole afternoon picking up snails and putting them in shoe boxes and naming each one of them, or playing quidditch with broomsticks that left the ground a maximum of two feet.

"Let's do this, Potter. For Teddy," Draco said. Harry looked at him, probably still thinking of another way out.

"Okay. Let's," Harry answered, lowering his eyes to his mug of tea. After solving some last things, Draco stood up.

"Where's Teddy?" he asked again.

"He's in a temporary orphanage. Don't worry, he's not been put up for adoption. The trial will be on Monday morning, and they'll visit you on Tuesday after you're settled in this house. Anything else?" Anwen answered, standing up too.

"We can visit him, can't we?" Harry asked.

"Of course you can. We'll take you," Peter said, and soon they all took the floo network to St Vincent's Orphanage.

The building was enourmous, an old structure that seemed to belong to those rich muggles that built a huge mansion with hundreds of bedrooms for a family of three. Still, St Vincent's Orphanage was as cozy as it could be. The reception was colorful, and a black wall was covered in names signed in chalk by the children that passed through the house. The ceiling was high, a chandelier hanging from it, and they painted the glasses on it to make the lights colourful. Random fairy lights hung from the ceiling. They really made an effort to make an orphanage as cheerful as it could be. A small chubby lady, who introduced herself as Mrs Mary was the one who showed them the place superficially. The rooms of the older kids who had lived there for the longest were all filled with their things. Draco was sure no child there was older than eleven, even more because Headmistress McGonagall was doing her best to 'recruit' any young wizard or witch, since she always saw the good in people and knew those orphans needed help, and they sure were known, since they resided in one of the most famous orphanage in the Magic World.

They reached the nursery, where a bunch of toddlers were playing around. Draco looked around for Teddy, but it didn't take long to find him, since his hair changed colours in order to match the toys he held. Draco walked as if he was about to step on mines. The babies were all around him. Harry stayed behind, for some reason. Maybe he just wanted to give Draco some space. The blonde haired boy picked up Teddy, whose hair was a blood red colour at the moment. The small boy threw his arms around Draco, clinging at him.

"Daco," the little boy said, smiling. He started muttering his first words recently, which consisted of 'Dome' and 'Daco'.

"Hey little guy," Draco said, kissing his forehead. "I've missed you."

Teddy still didn't know the concept of missing someone, but he felt Andromeda's absence, Draco was sure. Soon enough, Anwen and Peter left, leaving Harry and Draco to spend time with the little boy, not before reminding them once more of the trial on Monday at 9. Visiting time ended way too fast. In a blink of an eye, it was five o'clock, time for the smaller children's supper. After the boys said goodbye to the sweet toddler that would unite them in a strange way for a long time, they went their ways, both with their heads full of thoughts and expectations for their future.

 

It was past two in the morning when Draco finally got home. He stumbled drunkenly into the apartment after taking one too many shots of that shitty muggle drink called vodka, and as he walked to his room, he ended up falling on his face as he tripped on his own feet. All the pain from his loss came back physically as he smashed his nose against the floor. The hit acted like a trigger to all his feelings from the day. Losing Andromeda, having to leave Blaise and his apartment, moving in with saint Potter, Ted having only Draco left as his blood relative. A sob erupted from his lips, followed by another, and another, until he was a horrible mess of tears. He sat up and leaned his back on the couch, trying to focus his eyesight, that was blurred because of the tears and alcohol.

"Draco?" he heard Blaise's voice behind him. "What the fuck are you doing?", he said, as soon as he saw Draco harming himself.

"She's dead, man-'' Draco's sentence was cut by a sob. "Dromeda's dead." The silence that followed was only interrupted by Draco's cries.

Blaise didn't say anything for a while, just sat beside his friend, knewing that was all he needed. It took Draco some time to recompose himself. Once he was able to talk, he explained the whole thing to Blaise, who was still silent. He was a quiet guy.

"So what, you're gonna be Potter's boyfriend? Smooching included?" Blaise said, laughing. It earned him a punch from Malfoy.

"I'm not gonna kiss Potter's awful mouth! I have standards. Please."

"Malfoy, you're ridiculous," Blaise answered. "Anyway, if you move, I move too. I'm sure there's a spare room in the house."

"There isn't. There are three rooms, one for me, one for Potter and one for Teddy." Draco said, sadly. He really liked living with Blaise, it was chill and they always took care of each other. Blaise stayed silent for a moment as he fumbled with the carpet they were sitting on.

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to come by every day to make sure you haven't lowered your standards," he said, with his tongue between his smile like he always did when making fun of someone. Draco punched his rommate's arm and tried to stand up, only to realise the vodka was still taking a toll on him. Blaise helped him stand up and reach his room, where they said goodnight to each other. Malfoy shut his door and threw himself on the bed, falling asleep on the spot. Tomorrow he'd deal with everything.


	3. The Hearing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, guys!! thanks for the hits and kudos so far, means a lot :)) i'm sorry the chapters are so short, i can't seem to be able to make them longer, so i'll post more chapters than lengthy ones! enjoy!

"Morning," Draco said to his rommate as he walked into the kitchen.

"Did you make tea?" "Yeah, here," Blaise handed him his favourite tea, black. "Looking fancy." He praised, looking Malfoy in his suit up and down.

"Gotta make a good impression, don't I? Pretty sure everyone in the Ministry hates the Malfoy name nowadays." Draco answered, and took a sip of his drink. "Plus, I always look fancy." Blaise shook his head and laughed, but didn't say anything else.

They finished their tea in silence as they did most mornings. Draco enjoyed that, actually. Every aspect of his life was loud, from Teddy to his job, so having a moment of peace and quiet was very precious to him. He was going to miss it.

The Ministry looked almost the same as he remembered. It was full of witches, wizards, elves, all sorts of creatures from the Magic World. It had been almost two years since Draco had stepped inside that place, and he already wanted to leave as soon as possible. Blaise had accompanied him for support only, since Hermione was going to be their witness. She was much more convincing than a former Death Eater, and had a lot more communication skills than his fellow Slytherin. As the elevator stopped in various floors, Draco's heart kept beating faster – he really wanted this to work, even if it meant living with Potter. Teddy was the _last_ of what he considered family, and he was going to fight for the little guy. Malfoy's throat had just started closing up when they reached the Department of the Child and Teenage Wizard. It was a long hallway, similar to the rest of the Ministry, and it was mildly full, which, in Draco's point of view, was actually quite positive. It meant not many kids were suffering by not knowing their fate. The two friends walked down the hallway until they found Hermione and stupid-faced Potter, like Draco put it.

Harry was, Malfoy had to admit it, decently dressed for the occasion. As for Hermione, she was wearing her as-always-mediocre clothes, Draco thought.

"Good morning my friends," Blaise said with a smirk. The two answered their own good mornings in a bitter way."Oh, come on, Harry. Aren't you going to greet your love with a kiss?" Hermione held back a laugh with her hand, and Draco rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, Zabini. We don't need to kiss," Harry answered.

"I think the judge will differ. We'll see." Blaise finished with a wink.

They waited about an hour to be called. By then, Blaise had made about 15 kiss jokes and Harry told him to "shut the fuck up" every time. They looked like a bunch of toddlers arguing, and Draco concluded that they would definitely lose Teddy. The thought alone crushed his heart, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

A small witch with thin voice appeared at the door and yelled "Case 57, Theodore Tonks!". The group stood up quickly from the chairs in the waiting area and directed themselves to the witch. "Follow me, please," she said, and guided them into the room.

The room was well lit with a high ceiling. In the centre sat a judge, her enormous wooden desk filled up with papers. She was surprisingly young and very beautiful, her dark skin gleamed in the bright lights of the room. Immediately Draco thought of throwing the good old Malfoy charm at her, but stopped himself when he realised he had to pretend he was gay. Which lead him to think, maybe this woman was too smart and would see right through their plan.

"Good morning, I'm Ms Arlington. Please, take a seat."

They all looked at each other, surprised. Usually judges in the Magic World weren't nice or polite. Maybe she was nice because she dealt with teenagers and kids all day, Draco thought. The four sat on a wooden desk in front of her.

"So, shall we begin?" She said, smiling brightfully.

 

"I can't believe you did it!" Blaise said, slapping Malfoy on the shoulder.

The hearing had lasted a whole painful hour, in which the couple acted pretty well, as Blaise put it. After it ended, the group didn't speak until they reached the lift, when the celebrations began. Draco was beaming. He was going to be able to keep little Teddy, his boy. Although a small part of him was crushed for moving out of his and Blaise's apartment, he couldn't wait to take care of his cousin.

"We should celebrate!" Zabini said.]

"All four of us? Together?" Hermione answered. "Yeah, Granger. Why not? After all, our respective best friends are now together, so we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other," Blaise answered, throwing his arm around the girl just to annoy her.

"Uhm, I'm flattered, but I'd rather not. After all, I'm a dad now," Potter answered, laughing awkwardly at the end.

It was obviously something he didn't plan to do at such young age. Draco had to agree with Potter. It was way too early in the day to get shit-faced, and they still had to pick up Ted and move into Andromeda's house. They then settled that the celebration would be some kind of house-warming party, where Blaise, Hermione and Ron would come over the next evening, after the new couple had sort of settled down. First, Draco and Harry would pick up their things at their respective apartments, then Draco would pick up Ted, since Potter had some stuff to do or something. Draco didn't listen.

After biding their goodbyes, the two Slytherins headed to their apartment. Packing his stuff was easy, Malfoy just had to flick his wand and everything was in place. The hard part came afterwards. He walked through the apartment with a pain on his chest as he looked back on his memories with his roommate and best friend. Every morning, whoever woke up first would make tea, and they would drink in silence, but always together. Zabini was quite messy, so Draco would always compain about it, and Blaise just ignored it. It was so difficult to say goodbye, even if he had only lived there for a year and a half. Both had lost so much during the war, and now, after Draco had lost his dear aunt, he would have to deal with his loneliness and messed up head by himself. He sighed and called for Blaise, who had been locked in his room for the past hour.

"You were crying, weren't you," Malfoy said once he saw Blaise's red and puffy eyes.

"No, I was smoking that muggle plant, weed, is it?" he answered ironically.

"Asshole."

"Anyway, let's do this," Blaise sighed. "I can't believe this, mate. It's insanity. Pure insanity," he whispered to himself. "Yeah, totally mental," Draco answered.


	4. New House

Draco stood in the middle of the living room, boxes and suitcases full of his things all around him and little Teddy in his right. Blaise had just left, and Malfoy's nose was still running from all the crying. Sensitive little bitch, he thought. The house was still heavy with Andromeda's presence, from her paintings hanging on the walls, to the smell of herbs and paint. The house was overly decorated, with flowery wallpapers and light pink striped sofas. There was a big, six place oak dinner table, which would now only seat three people, and the floor was covered in dark wood. 

It was absurdly painful, to stand in his aunt's house without seeing the woman, her cheerful presence brightening the house. She always had some paint on her, and she took life easy after hurting so much from the loss of a daughter. Her smile was always present, the age marks on her face, her greying hair, all made her perfect in Draco's eyes. She was like a mother to him, and now he had lost her. Like he had lost everyone else. 

The blonde boy rubbed his eyes harshly and put Ted on the floor once the little boy started complaining for Malfoy to put him down. He had learned how to walk a while back and just wouldn't stop walking around the house. Draco smiled at the sight of the little boy and cheered up, thinking about how much he was going to learn. 

He went up into Andromeda's room. He had asked Blaise to pack up her things, since he wouldn't be able to do it himself. Everything was neatly stocked into boxes, which Draco moved into the cupboard under the stairs. Ironic, he thought. After bringing up his things and organising his new room, he decided to make some tea while he waited for Potter to arrive, which didn't take long. 

"Hey, I made tea," Draco said, as he heard the door open. They were going to live together, might as well try to be nice. To his surprise, Harry didn't even greet him. The boy went straight upstairs with his things, dragging his old school trunk up the steps loudly and making Teddy cry. Once he hear the baby's complaints, Harry rushed down the stairs, dropping his trunk.

"What's going on?" he asked, walking into the small kitchen. Draco was holding the boy and attempting to soothe him, which wasn't really working. 

"Can't you use magic to take your shit upstairs?" Draco answered, glaring at his new roommate. Potter didn't answer. Ted was crying very loudly and they didn't understand why. Draco checked the kid's diapers; everything was in order. What did he want then? Did he miss Andromeda? Could the tiny wizard sense her death? Could h-

"Oi mate, chill the fuck out," Potter said, noticing Draco was getting tense. "Babies only cry for three reasons: they're either hungry, sleepy or need a diaper change. What time is it?" he continued, speaking over Ted's screams. Draco checked his wrist watch (an amazing muggle invention he had found during war). 

"It's half past six," he answered. "He's very possibly hungry, and after eating he will get sleepy. We just have to feed him and put him to bed, piece of cake."

It wasn't piece of cake, though. Feeding a one year old was a hard task, even more so with empty-headed-Potter helping. Ted spilt food everywhere, he didn't eat his vegetables and right after eating the boy started crying again. His guardians sighed, tired from the long and emotionally draining day. After Teddy's supper, Harry gave him a bath while Draco cooked dinner for the two of them. The boy was put to bed in his room, and they were finally at peace. 

The two sat down to eat the pasta Draco made. Harry didn't want to admit it, but it was good. They ate in silence, the way Malfoy liked it. The smell of tomato sauce had invaded the kitchen, giving the place a homey feeling. After they finished their food, they cleaned up Ted's mess, and the two went to bed in their respective rooms.

Draco didn't even say goodnight to Potter. He was deeply immersed in his thoughts and exhausted from the long day. He took off his shoes and threw himself on the bed with his food-stained, sweat-smelling clothes, not giving a fuck about it. He just wanted to sleep, even if he knew it was close to impossible for him to have a peaceful, dreamless night. 

"Could at least take these clothes off," Draco said to himself, sitting up on the bed and unbuttoning his white shirt. He looked impecable this morning with his black blazer and white shirt, but he wasn't mad. The food stains meant he had Ted with him, and everything was going to be okay. 

The blonde boy walked into his bathroom as he took off his shirt and threw it on the ground. As he was washing his face, muggle music started playing from Harry's room. It's like he forgot there was a baby in the house. Draco walked out of his room and rapped on his roommate's door. 

"What?" Potter said, opening the door harshly. Draco noticed the other boy eyed his body, but steered his eyes as fast as he could. 

"The shit music. Turn it off," Malfoy answered. 

"It's really low, how did you hear it?" Potter answered, and before Draco could say anything, he added, "by the way, this is one of the most acclaimed muggle bands in the world, so, fuck you."

Draco rolled his eyes and said, "I don't care, there's a baby here. Turn it off." With that, he turned his back to Harry and went back to his room. 

Potter didn't turn his music off, and that infernal muggle bullshit invaded Draco's dreams as he fell into a deep sleep. It was the middle of the night when he woke up drencher in sweat, his heart almost beating out of his chest. It was one of his nightmares, again. 

Draco couldn't help it, he got off his bed and opened his door as silently as he could. Apparently, Potter had fallen asleep listening to music. That prick. The blonde boy walked on the tip of his toes to Ted's room, just to check on the little boy, opening the door slowly to not wake him up. He walked to the crib just to see Ted wasn't there.

A heat rose up Draco's body as he stood paralyzed in front of the crib. It was his first night with the baby, and he actually, literally, lost a fucking baby. He rushed to Potter's room, and, not even bothering to knock, slammed the door open, just to see the idiot wasn't there either. A million thoughts raced through his head as he rushed to his room to pick up his wand. Had Potter stolen Teddy? Did Ted go missing before that and Harry went looking for him?

Draco basically flew down the stairs just to stop suddenly at the bottom, in shock. Potter had fallen asleep on the couch with Ted in his arms. The little boy was bundled up against his chest, and Harry was sitting up, his neck dropped to the side.

It was a sweet scene, despite the almost heart attack Draco had. He couldn't decide if he woke Potter up, so he went to the kitchen to make some tea. 

Draco was sitting on the table waiting for the water to boil when Harry walked in, Ted in his arms. He looked exhausted.

"You left your music on," Malfoy said. He couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I know, it's just that I can't sleep without it," Harry answered.

"Well, it doesn't seem to be working very well." 

"Yeah, I guess," Potter said, and with that they fell into silence. 

Draco jumped in fright when the kettle started whistling from being so immersed in his thoughts. He rushed to pick it up before it woke Teddy.

Boiling the tea water in a kettle was one of the only muggle things Draco did. He enjoyed the moment of peace that always happened when he was making tea.

He poured the water into two mugs and gave one to Potter. The boy thanked him and, suprisingly, drank his tea in silence. It was obvious to Draco how much Potter had changed after the war and during all these years. If they were still in Hogwarts, they never would've sat to drink tea together. Different times, you could say.


	5. Sunlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooo i'm so sorry for taking so long, i actually drifted away from the fandom bc of school, but i'm back and full of new ideas so here we go, thanks for the comprehension, also i love seeing feedback!

Harry heard Ted's cries echoing through the house just as the sun started rising. When he agreed to taking care of the baby, he didn't know it would be so hard. How hard could it be to change diapers?

But boy, he was wrong. It was officially their first morning with the baby and Harry didn't know how to proceed. He picked up Ted and realised his diapers needed a change. Harry decided he would give the boy a nice bath to start off the day.

Bathing a baby was a lot of fun, despite the diaper change that anticipated it. Ted would splash around and partially change his hair colours according to the toy he was holding.

His metamorphing powers were just beginning to show, which is why he couldn't completely change his hair. Also, Harry had noticed, Teddy showed freckles when Draco was holding him, probably because Malfoy had some himself.

After Ted was nice and clean, Harry remembered they still had to feed him. _Shit, there goes all the work,_ Harry thought. Maybe they could feed him something that wouldn't stain?

Potter decided it was time to wake up his roommate. He rapped on the door, and, after Draco didn't answer, he opened it anyway.

You see, after their awkward tea the night before, Harry went to bed and left the other boy alone. He didn't want to, knowing Malfoy's weakness for alcohol, but Draco convinced Harry he wouldn't drink.

Malfoy was spread across his bed only in his underwear. Apparently there were no glass bottles in sight, but Harry spotted a pack of cigarettes. The room, unsurprisingly, wasn't impregnated with cigarette stench, because Draco had probably hidden it with magic.

"Hey, wanker, wake up," Harry said, poking Malfoy's leg with his foot. His hands were busy carrying Ted. "We have to feed the kid." 

Draco huffed and rolled onto his back. Harry felt his face hot as he took a glance at Draco's body. 

"Stop staring, Potter," Draco said, an unevitable smirk crawling on his face. 

"Fuck off," Harry answered, turned around and shut the door. He stomped down the stairs, walked into the kitchen and put Ted on his high chair. While he waited for his idiot of a roommate to get ready, he remembered he hadn't seen Jinx the cat ever since they had gotten the news about Andromeda. He wondered where the cat would be. 

Harry walked outside onto the porch and started calling for the cat, to no avail. He heard Draco's footsteps behind him as he joined Harry on the porch. 

"Jinx usually goes missing for a few days when he's upset. Sometimes it's because he didn't get enough attention, or maybe this time he can actually feel Andromeda isn't here. Or maybe he simply died," Malfoy said morbidly.

"Jesus, Malfoy, you don't need to be so negative about it. Cats are weird as fuck. I remember Crookshanks, Hermione's ugly cat. He disappeared for days and always came back. I'm sure Jinx will be back," Harry answered.

"Oooh yeah, I remember it. He was really ugly. Reminded me of Granger," Draco said, laughing. 

Harry rolled his eyes but bit back a laugh. What Malfoy said _was_ kind of true, indeed. They headed back into the kitchen, where Teddy was waiting for them on his chair. Harry constantly forgot that toddlers needed to be watched at all times. To their luck, the kid didn't do anything wrong. 

Malfoy suggested pancakes after Harry had told him Ted was already bathed. After agreeing  upon pancakes, they started to make them, together.

"Hey, we have to discuss how we will organise our schedules. I still have a job and and medical school, you know," Draco said. Even if he quit his job, he would still have money, since his dad sent him a generous amount every month. Still, Draco wanted to do something and earn his _own_ money. 

"You have a job?" Harry asked, suprised. He never imagined Malfoy working.

"Yeah, I'm working at this new pub in Knockturn Alley. It's only from Wednesday to Saturday, though. Also, I took this week off to sort things out."

"Well, that's perfect then. I'm working at the Ministry while I wait for my Auror's test, though it's only going to happen in May or something. So you take the day shift and I take the night shift," Harry answered while he flipped a pancake.

"Man, haven't you listened? I'm also taking medical school, and it's during the day," Draco said. 

"Well, fuck. I don't know what we're going to do, then." 

The two boys continued to discuss their plans of dividing their time with Ted while feeding him. The pancakes had actually not been such a bad idea, and Harry was good at making them.

They finally settled down on a schedule; Harry would take the kid to work from Monday to Friday (the Ministry would probably allow it, since, as Draco put it, they love sucking Potter's balls). Malfoy would never be allowed to take a baby to medical school for obvious reasons. The two of them would spend time with Ted together when Draco didn't work or study. Harry couldn't help but feel a bit bad for Malfoy, seeing as himself would be spending much more time with Teddy than Draco. It would be temporary, though, as they would have to enroll the kid in kindergarten soon enough.

Harry watched as Draco fed Ted the pancakes. The sun was coming in through the blinds behind Harry, and some of it was hitting Draco's snow-white skin, showing even more his light freckles. He was doing funny gestures to get the boy to eat, but the baby was too distracted by laughing. Ted's laughs filled the kitchen with joy, as Draco did a zooming noise and flew the fork around, imitating a broom. 

"Here comes the suuuper fast Firebolt!" he exclaimed, making Ted laugh even harder. Harry realised baby laughs had to be the best sound in the world. 

As he made the kid laugh, Draco smiled wide. It was probably the first time Harry had seen him smile like that. Maybe, just maybe, things were going to look up. He hoped.

 

It was just after breakfast when Jinx returned home. He was looking quite ragged and skinny, but he was just fine. He walked around and rubbed himself on Harry's legs all day long. Once Teddy saw the cat, he jumped up and down on Draco's lap, screaming in happiness. 

The boys set up a play space for Ted in the backyard, laying a sheet on the grass, filled with toys for him to entertain himself as they sat on the back porch to watch him. Harry took a deep, long breath and laid back his head, appreciating the moment. The day was going on so perfectly and dreamy, it just didn't seem real to him.

A chilly Autumn breeze started to flow, and they decided it was time to get inside and think about lunch. 

"Come on, Malfoy, you have to stop being such a sissy about the Muggle world. It has all kinds of food, all the way from India if you want. London is filled with Indian restaurants, I really want some," Harry whined as they discussed what they would eat.

"Potter, I'm not going out with a kid that can change his fucking hair colour in the blink of an eye. Nuh-huh, forget it. Can't you use that damned thing and order some food?" Draco answered. The damned thing he mentioned was actually a telephone.

"Yeah, fine, you're right."

"Hold up, hold up. What did you just say? _The_ Harry Potter just admitted Draco Malfoy is right? You heard that, Teddy, didn't you?" Draco answered, poking Ted lightly on his tummy. Harry just rolled his eyes, muttered a swearword and dialed a number on his phone.

They ended up ordering chinese food because Draco said he once tried Indian and it was 'way too spicy for him'. Harry just called him weak for that. They ate in silence, until Draco asked Harry a couple of things about his work.

"When are you taking your Auror's test?" He asked, setting his cutlery down. Draco had amazing table manners, Harry had noticed. It was probably because of how he was raised, but it still surprised him. 

"Well... I don't know. I still have to finish my training, but with Teddy and all, I'm going to have to wait a bit. I used to train after my shift, but now I have to watch him at night, so." He answered. His heart clenched as he gave space to a thought that was always at the back of his head, what if he didn't make it?

"Well, even if you're shit, I'm sure you'll be accepted, you're the great Potter," Draco answered, smiling. 

"Yeah, well. If I'm accepted I want it to be because I'm good, not because of my name. I think I'm gonna do well, though," Harry finished.

"Eh, decent," Malfoy said, and it looked like he actually meant it, but Harry gave it no thought. He was used to Malfoy mocking him, and nowadays he just ignored it. After that, they finished their food in silence.

 

Teddy was napping when he came. The doorbell rang, Draco was upstairs doing God-knows-what, and Harry was in the living room watching TV, so he was the one who opened the door. There he was, Blaise Zabini, tall and dark, with deep green eyes. He had gone with Malfoy to the hearing, but Harry had completely ignored him, since he himself was a huge pile of nerves.

"Oh, hey," Harry said. It was the first thing that came out of his mouth.

Harry could partially forgive Malfoy for the wrongs he had done, since most were done out of fear, but Zabini was just plain evil. Zabini and Malfoy got along pretty well, but there was just something so off about him, and Harry couldn't pinpoint it. Maybe it was that stupid smirk of his that made him look smug. Honestly, Harry didn't want him in the house, but before he could even tell Blaise to fuck off, Draco came trotting down the stairs.

He had just showered, his blonde hair was toussled and wet and he was wearing a plain white shirt and black sweatpants. It felt weird seeing Draco so casually dressed.

"Hey, Zabini! I've missed you, man", Draco exclaimed, pulling his friend in for a hug. 

"I've missed you too, bro," he answered, smiling as they pulled away. "Almost thought your new boyfriend wouldn't let me in." 

"Well if it was up to me, I wouldn't. Also, what boyfriend?" Harry said, shrugging. "Well, I'll leave you two be," he finished, turning his back to the two friends and sitting back down on the sofa. Harry heard them mutter something under their breaths, but brushed it off. 

Both of them headed upstairs, probably into Draco's room, since Ted was asleep. It wasn't until half an hour later that the two were laughing and talking loudly, eventually pissing Harry off. He climbed up the stairs, and, without knocking, opened Draco's door.

"Fuck! Don't you know how to knock, you twat?" Malfoy exclaimed, trying to hide a cigarette.

"Yeah, what the fuck, Potter? Didn't your mum teach you any manners?" Blaise said, laughing afterwards.

Harry was raging. They weren't in school anymore, yet they were acting like kids. He was so done of hearing dumb ass jokes about his parents, especially from Blaise. He never missed an opportunity. The worst of all, was that Malfoy kept quiet.

"Honestly, Zabini, even with dead parents I might have more manners than you. Turns out there's a fucking baby living with your precious friend, and you might at least respect that. Also, Malfoy, you don't owe me shit, so just stop trying to hide the cig," Harry ranted, almost yelling. He had to control himself to not lose his nerves. He had lost them and fucked up way too many times.

The two friends just stared at him, and he noticed Blaise trying to hold in some laughter. Harry just flipped them off and shut the door, quietly, trying to not wake Teddy up. If there wasn't a baby in the house, he probably would have slammed the door off its hinges. 

As he was heading down the stairs, Harry overheard Zabini say "I guess I'm staying for dinner, then," and then laughing. That the last drop for Harry. He wouldn't bear having Zabini at their table, so instead of going down the stairs, he headed into his room, packed a bag, wrote a note saying "I'm going out," left it in Ted's room, then disapparated.

It was a bit past five when he arrived at her door. He knocked their secret knock, and when she opened the door, the sunset light shone on her. Her hair looked like it was on fire, her eyes the brightest emeralds in the universe. 

"Hi."


	6. Odd Feelings

"Well, you do have a lot of balls coming here. Heard you're a dad now, didn't feel like telling me?" Ginny said as she walked into the house with Harry behind her.

"I'm sorry babe, it's just the past few days have been absolutely crazy. It all happened so fast, and today-"

"First of all, I'm not your babe. _We_ have not been a thing for a while now. Second of all, you're living with _Malfoy_? What the fuck is that all about?"

"Ginny, please, let me explain. Come on, take a seat," Harry said, pulling her by the hand to sit on her sofa. 

"Don't tell me to take a seat at my own house, Harry," Ginny was red with anger. It wasn't _that_ hard to make her angry, and when it happened, it wasn't pretty. Still, she took a seat beside him.

Once Harry told her everything that happened, she seemed calmer. Her cat had jumped on her lap and was purring happily as she stroked his white fur. She had named him Black, for some reason. Harry had missed them both. 

You see, after the war, and all the shit they went through, they tried to get back together, but they both had way too much going on in their lives, that they decided to break it up. It was one of the hardest things Harry had to do. Yet sometimes, one would show up at the other's door in a moment of solitude, and they would hook up again. 

Ginny petted Black in silence, probably processing the information. Harry looked around her house, remembering all the moments they spent together in it. It was very cozy, full of plants hanging from the ceiling and a bunch of Quidditch posters on the wall. The sofa they were sitting in was big and white, with colourful pillows on it for contrast. Ginny's Quidditch equipment was thrown against the wall by the door. The sight of it made Harry's heart clench, remembering how much he missed playing the sport.

"So you're gay now?" Ginny said, grinning. Harry rolled his eyes at that. 

"Please, do you think I would trade _you_ for _Malfoy_?" Harry asked, smiling. "Possibly," he finished, to which he received a swat on his arm. 

"I missed you," she said, leaning in to him. Harry didn't even have time to answer before they kissed. 

 

\-----------------------------------

Blaise was laughing his ass off at Potter after he had shut the door. Draco laughed lightly at his friend, trying to hide that he felt a tad bit bad. The Potter's parents jokes were getting a bit too old in his opinion, and it was obvious it had hurt. 

Draco was raising his cigarette to his mouth when he heard a loud crack. He put it out and went into the hallway, with his wand in hand. 

"Potter?" he asked. Blaise had stood up and was trailing behind him, wand in hand too. The crack they'd heard could be from an Apparition, so you can never be too careful.

He went into Ted's room to make sure he was okay, and found a note beside his crib from Potter that said he was going out. Draco cursed him under his breath and crushed the note. He then noticed the baby was awake and quite smelly, which meant a diaper change. 

All the while he was changing Ted he cursed Potter and Zabini. Why did Blaise have to open his goddamned mouth, and did Potter have to be such a pussy about it? Two idiots, that's what they were. While Draco was busy with the kid, Zabini made dinner. At least he had some killer culinary skills.

"Look mate, I'm sorry for pissing off Potter. Didn't know he was still such a wuss about his parents," Blaise said as they had dinner. He had cooked up some delicious broccoli pasta. 

"It's fine. I don't think he's a wuss about it, I think he's just tired of hearing the same old jokes, you know." Draco said, feeding Ted a forkful of pasta. They had made extra vegetables for him, and he ate them all, to their relief. 

"Yeah, I guess," Blaise shrugged and Draco noticed he looked kind of regretful, which he deserved. 

They threw around some more small talk and then finished their food in silence, which was common in meals with Blaise. After dinner they sat on the couch to watch some TV, and Ted ended up falling asleep. 

Draco took the kid up to him room, laid him gown gently in his crib, and watched Ted sleep as he stroked his head full of hair, which was strangely orange that night. The strong red hair he had acquired reminded Draco of the Weasleys, and consequently of Potter. He wondered where he had gone, and thought he probably would've gone to Weasel's and Granger's place. Draco was kind of pissed that Harry had left him alone to take care of Ted just because of Blaise. Would the idiot Potter leave everytime his friend came over to visit?

Draco looked around Ted's room while listening to his light snoring. It was filled with pictures of Ted's family, from his parents, Lupin and Tonks, to Draco on the porch of Dromeda's house holding Teddy and Jinx in his arms. He felt a pang of guilt as he looked at those pictures, for he blamed himself every single day for making Ted an orphan. He knew, even from afar, how much Potter had suffered from the absence of his parents, and now his cousin would have to go through the same. At least he would have two cool dads.

He felt his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach when he saw Andromeda's photo. She was wearing a paint splattered apron, with a smile as big and as bright as the Sun. Draco missed her so much, she had become like a mother to him these past few years, and her absence was weighing him down with grief.

"Oh Dromeda, this is way too hard. Why did you leave us?" He whispered, touching the picture. He just wanted to go back to being eleven years old, and fix all of his mistakes. If he hadn't been a gullible tool, none of this would have happened, and Ted's parents would probably be alive. Or not, maybe he couldn't give himself _that_ much credit. 

He shut the door quietly and once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw Blaise passed out on his couch. It wasn't even late, it was almost ten, but his friend had said he had a hard day at work. So Draco let him sleep and headed into the kitchen. 

It was well into the night when Harry came home. Draco had fallen asleep on the kitchen table holding a bottle of scotch, and jumped up in fright when he heard a knock on the door. He stretched himself awkwardly, his neck stiff from sleeping all weird and his head throbbing from the alcohol. Still, he stood up and headed towards the door.

Potter looked like an idiot standing in their porch. He looked quite terrible, if you might say.

"About time, wanker," Draco said in a sleepy voice, running his hand through his hair.

"I wasn't planning on coming home until tomorrow, but things didn't work out."

"Where were you?" 

"At Ginny's" Harry answered. Draco was still in front of the door and Harry on the porch. The blonde boy glared at him.

"So you left me alone with Ted to shag the Weasley girl?" Draco answered, moving away from the door and into the kitchen, where Potter followed.

"Well, technically, you weren't alone," Harry said, dropping his bag on the floor and sitting on the table.

"Zabini's as good as nothing with kids. Doesn't mean you have to leave the house everytime something doesn't please you. We could've sorted it out."

"Yeah, I know. I just had to go see Ginny, we hadn't talked about all this. It felt weird being with her, though." 

"Look, I don't want to hear about your sex problems. If you couldn't perform, that's your business. Just, next time don't be such a whiny bitch and face whatever's bothering you," Draco said after taking a huge sip of scotch. 

Not in the mood to discuss, Harry just agreed with Malfoy, told him to stop drinking and headed upstairs.

Blaise woke him up in the morning to tell him he had to leave for work, then disapparated. Draco had fallen asleep on the armchair beside the sofa after finishing the entire bottle. He got up, fighting his huge hangover and went to his room, where he crashed for the third time in a row. Potter could take care of Ted while he slept, he thought, just before falling asleep once more.

\-------------------------

After they had sex, Ginny fell asleep on his chest, leaving Harry alone in his thoughts. Something had been off about it, as if they hadn't clicked the same way they used to. It seemed like something was in the way. He had missed Ginny deeply, but Harry was starting to think his love for her was becoming a friendship love or something. He didn't know what felt so off.

All he could think about was the weight of the responsibility back at his house. He felt more at home at Ginny's place than Andromeda's, yet, he couldn't help but keep thinking about Ted. Harry shuffled from under the girl, dressed, and went to the kitchen to make some tea. He had promised Ginny he would stay the night and leave in the morning, but he had some doubts about that now. 

He woke her up after the tea was done and offered her some, but Harry didn't have the courage to tell her he wasn't staying over just because of how amazing she looked that moment. He didn't have the courage before they ordered pizza, and not even afterwards, as they went to bed at around midnight. 

At around one a.m. Harry decided he would sneak out. The wisest choice was to probably stay just to not piss Ginny off, yet he couldn't help but feel bad for leaving Ted alone. Also, knowing Draco, he would probably be shit-faced, so if anything happened, there'd be no one to help.

He shuffled away from Ginny and was getting dressed when she turned around and woke up. 

"Where are you going?" She asked, rubbing her eyes. Harry froze at her voice, and, without coming up with a lie, he just blurted out,

"Home."

 _"What?"_ The way she said it made Harry realise he fucked up. "You- were you trying to _sneak out_ on _me_? What the fuck, Harry?" She stood up angry, and even in the dim light coming in from the moon through the window, he could see her red face.

"Well, it's just, Teddy's all alone at home and I thought-" 

"Oh you thought? You thought? Maybe, instead of thinking, you could've at least plucked up the balls and _told_ me, you dipshit," she spattered. Oh boy, she was angry, Harry thought. He really had fucked up. "Also, he's not alone, he has the Malfoy twat with him, so you could've not been a prick and just stayed with me."

"No, look, I can stay," Harry said, undressing to lay in the bed with her. 

"No, Harry, I don't want you to stay, and I don't want you to come here again. At least for a while. You always fuck things up."

At that, he felt his heart clench. All Harry did was nod, gather his things, and, after saying goodbye, he disapparated home. He knocked on the door, as he didn't want to disapparate in the house and risk waking Ted up or just getting hexed by a drunken Malfoy.

Speaking of Malfoy, he was stinking cigarettes and alcohol when he opened the door, and after some bickering, Harry headed upstairs to see Teddy. The kid was sleeping soundly, giving off light snores. Harry ran his hand through the now red hair Ted had, and he thought it was odd. It's like he knew. After spending a few minutes with the baby, Harry headedd to bed. Not before turning on his music, just to try and spook the nightmares away. 

As he laid in bed, he thought about all the different things that had happened in only a few days, and wondered if his life was ever going to be normal.


	7. Music

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> super super short chapter to contextualize the next one hehe. things are gonna go doooown. ;)

Over the next few weeks, life had settled into a nice routine, at last. Potter had given up on taking Ted to work since it raised too many questions, so they decided to hire a nanny. Her name was Noelle and her and the kid got along pretty well. 

Draco had gone back to his crazy work and school routine that now had to include a child. As the days came and went, the weather grew colder, the trees redder and so did Teddy's hair. The boy was getting smarter each day.

It was a slow Sunday afternoon, while Ted was taking his daily nap, when Harry and Draco decided they should redecorate. After Andromeda died, the house was passed down to Draco, so now that it was his, he couldn't bare to see his aunt everywhere he looked in his own home. They both decided it was time to move on, though they wouldn't completely erase the woman out of the house she lived in for 15 years.

The good thing was that they had magic, so while Draco moved things around in the kitchen, Potter enchanted some brushes to paint the wall they had scrapped free of its wallpaper. Deciding the color of their living room wall was the hardest, since Harry wanted to paint it a deep red and Draco a dark green. They settled into each painting their own bedroom walls of the colour of their respective houses and chose to paint the living room white. 

Harry actually had some inspiration from Ginny's apartment, and suggested they hung some plants and changed the colour of the couch to a dark brown (if Tedy got it dirty it wouldn't show as much). Thanks to magic and their efficiency, the boys were done redecorating a week later.

By the TV they put up two dark wooden shelves full of their respective family's pictures and a few decorations, such as a snitch that flew in circles occasionaly. Beside the couch hung a couple of plants that could be used in potions and whatnot. They also bought one of those huge cat playgrounds for Jinx, which he loved.

Draco's room now consisted of Slytherin colours. Even if he met some bad people there, his house still held good memories. He bought new sheets, most of them black, and painted his wardrobe black too. Harry's room, on the other hand, held Gryffindor's colours, and he got himself some huge pillows to lay on the floor that reminded him of his common room. 

Teddy had just turned 1 year and 6 months when he took his first steps. It was early in the morning, before Harry was headed to work and Draco to school. Noelle had just arrived and Ted didn't want them to leave, so he just stood up and waltzed to his adoptive parents. Draco took a moving picture of the moment, since Potter, even after all those years being a wizard, still didn't know how to. They hung the picture on their new shelf, and, with a tight heart, headed into their day.

It was little moments like that that maybe Draco feel like things were finally starting to look up for them.

 

Saturday night Draco came home to Harry sitting on their new sofa listening to music on his turntable. It was around 3 a.m., and he was tired as fuck. Still, Potter invited him to sit next to him, so he did. Although he sat across him, on the armchair, not in the mood to sit so close to his roommate.

"What are you doing awake?" Draco asked, noticing that Potter was holding an empty scotch glass. Had he been drinking? 

"I couldn't sleep, so I came down here to listen to music and drink a cuppa," he answered, playing around with the glass. "How was your night?"

"It was alright. There were two fights tonight, that was pretty cool" Draco answered, and received a chuckle from Potter. After that, they both sat in silence for a while, just listening to Potter's music.

The song was one of those 80's love songs, filled with sweet melodic harmonies. It was one of the styles Potter listened to the most, he noticed. _Was Harry still in love with Ginny?_ Draco wondered. He watched as Potter hummed to the song with this eyes shut. His dark hair was toussled, but he kept it shorter than he used to in his time at Hogwarts, and he was wearing that hideous sweater that mother Weasel had knitted him after the war. 

"Do you miss the Weasley girl?" Draco asked, probably entering dangerous territory. He couldn't help but feel curious, though. He and Potter had been getting along strangely well the past month or so, so he believed he had the right to ask.

"Not so much anymore. I made a choice that day, and now I have to live with it," Potter answered, opening his eyes. Strangely, Draco felt a small relief from his answer. Harry stood up and went into the kitchen. When he came back, his cup was full of scotch to the brim, and he drank half of it before sitting back down on the sofa.

"Sometimes, I regret this. I mean, it's not so bad. But we're just _so_ young. Why the fuck did Andromeda have to be a drunken twat?" Harry said, throwing his head back. There were some days when he couldn't sleep because Teddy wouldn't stop crying, or when he forgot to leave food for Noelle and the kid, that he really wished he hadn't fought for Ted. 

"I know what you mean. I haven't told my parents about all this yet, because I know they won't accept it. I just want to be able to go out in Wizarding London, all of us together, or just a walk in the park, but we can't." Draco answered, slouching in the armchair. 

"You haven't told your parents? That's why you've been weird when I want to go out with Ted. You could've told me, you know."

"I didn't know how to."

Harry glanced at the clock, and noticed how late it was. Ted would be up in about 3 hours, just before they left for their day. He sighed as he thought about how little sleep he would get, if he managed to fall asleep. 

"Well, I'm going to bed," Harry said. He turned off the music, leaving only the soft sound of crickets. It was getting colder by the minute and he just wanted his bed. 

"Hey, can you leave the music on? I think I'm staying a bit longer," Draco said, snuggling up against his thick woolen trenchcoat. 

"Sure, good night." 

"Night." With that, Draco fell asleep to the sound of Fooled Around and Fell in Love, the sweet melody flooding his brain.

 

 

 

 


	8. Dragonfire Pub

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh ho ho, be free to leave your thoughts!

Draco Malfoy never really labeled his sexuality. He liked to say he hooked up with attractive people, and didn't care much about the genders of said people. Even at Hogwarts, where he had this arrogant, casanova image to maintain, he couldn't hold back on his desires and ended up snogging a couple of his boy housemates. You'd be surprised at how liberal some Slytherins are.

The problem was, that just because Draco and a couple of his friends allowed themselves such pleasures, it didn't mean other fellow Slytherins agreed with their acts. Especially his own father. All his life, along with the blood purity bullshit he had heard, Draco always had to bear with his parents' intolerant homophobia. If they ever found out he had kissed boys, he would be deserted from his family. The bare thought of having them find out he was living with Harry Potter and raising a halfblood baby as a fake-gay couple sent shivers down Draco's spine.

The months had traveled into mid-December, and still no visit from the Department of Child and Teenage Wizard to see if the two were treating Ted right. It's not like they weren't, though. Harry was now on break from his work until the next year, to which Draco felt jealous, seeing as himself had to work up until the 20th. At least he was already on school break.

The boys decided the house should be decorated, so, with Noelle's help, they put up the Christmas decorations. After much arguing about their house colours (again), they decided that both were very christmas-y, so both houses gave life to their tree that sat beside the TV.

It was a Wednesday night, so Draco headed to work at about 8p.m.. The pub he worked at was called Dragonfire, and even though it was located in Knockturn Alley, it was quite fancy. It was frequently visited by some important Dark Wizards that still hadn't given up the old ways of prejudice and that didn't want to mingle with halfbloods and muggleborns. Unfortunately, it was the only place that accepted Draco, after all, he was the son of an ex-Death Eater.

He couldn't say it brought his father much pride to see his son working as a mere barman, the heir to the Malfoy fortune. Draco didn't care, though, he liked his job. He met different people from all around the world, and sometimes he was able to hook up with some of the wizards or witches that hung around the pub.

Draco had apparated into the back of the building, entering the staff only room to leave his things. He hung up his heavy black trenchcoat, and turned to look at himself in the mirror of the tiny bathroom. His uniform consisted in a plain white shirt and black khakis, and he dared to think that that day he looked especially handsome.

He headed out into the pub, greeting a few clients that were always there. The decoration consisted in fancy burgundy armchairs around mahogany coffee tables and dark green walls, the lighting of the room dim to make it more "sexy", as Draco put it. The bar was of the same mahogany as the coffee tables, with stools in front of it made of the same material of the armchairs. There were more people seated at the bar than at the tables, and it seeing as it was a Wednesday, it wasn't a big number.

"Evening, Tom," Draco said, gretting his boss. The man was a strong 6ft tall wizard, with a shiny bald head and thick red beard. He always wore black and had this constant mean look on his face, but when he opened his mouth, Tom was one of the nicest people Draco had ever met. In fact, he was also the only person close to Draco apart from Blaise that knew about his new family.

"Ello, Draco. How's the kid?" Tom asked, smiling through his beard.

"Smarter everyday. Today he turned his hair blue for the first time ever!" Draco answered.

"I'm telling ya, that kid's going to be grand," his boss asked. With that, he excused himself and turned to attend to his clients, and Draco did the same.

At around 11, a person showed up whom Draco hadn't seen in ages. He entered the pub wearing a leather jacket and heavy combat boots, his hair messy and dark, with eyes even darker. Theodore Nott.

Theodore and Draco had been friends since the beggining of school. They clicked easily, seeing as Theo was quite the playful one. They had hooked up in their seventh year, and Draco could say that it was probably one of the best sex he had. Theodore spotted his old friend at the bar, shooting him a mischiveous side grin that made Malfoy's stomach jolt. He couldn't deny that Theo made him feel _very_ wrong.

"Draco Malfoy! I can't believe it's you!" He exclaimed, walking up to the bar. Draco had ducked under it to hug Theo on the other side. They exchanged a hug that lasted a few seconds longer than it should've. Malfoy guessed his plans to hook up with someone new had just gone to the drain.

"I've missed you, man" Draco said. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of someone from his school other than Zabini. "Where have you been this past year?"

"Oh, you know. Just going around the world. I've been doing some mercenary jobs, and it's pretty fucking fun." He said, winking. His voice was deep and raspy and his breath smelled of cigarettes, mint and butterbeer.

Draco headed back behind the bar and said, "What can I serve you, old friend?"

"Some Firewhiskey, because I'm getting the idea that the night's gonna be long. We have quite the catching up to do," Theo answered.

As he poured the drink into Nott's glass, Draco declared it was on the house. He would pay Tom back later.

"Only if you drink with me," Theo said, a smirk etched across his face. Damn his smirk, it had gotten Malfoy in so much trouble during their years at Hogwarts. Draco watched his old friend's features, from his big, dark brown eyes, to his slightly crooked nose and his plump lips underneath. Theo had olive skin that shone against the dim light of the Dragonfire pub.

Draco remembered all their hook ups, sneak outs, and hidden touches during their seventh year, and to that, he thought "Fuck it" and poured himself a drink. Since it was Wednesday, Tom let him drink.

They were on their sixth drink when Theo reached out his hand, ran his fingers through Draco's hair, pulled his head closer and kissed him across the bar. A strange feeling rose up both their bellies, and all Draco wanted was to take his friend into the tiny staff bathroom and do quite the number of unspeakable things. Theo's kiss was deep and hungry, which was all Draco needed. He needed to feel wanted, lusted for. 

It was already 2 a.m. when they first kissed, and there was no one at the pub except Theodore, Tom, and a dark-haired stranger. So, Draco, in his hazy state of alcohol and lust, jumped over the bar to get closer to Theo. They made out for a while, and stoppped to take a couple more shots, this time of a muggle drink called tequila.

Draco's vision had started to become blurry, he was slurring his words as he whispered in Theo's ear all that he wanted to do tonight, and he was almost falling off the stool he was leaned against. Theo chuckled at his partner's messy words and told him he had to go to the bathroom. Draco just nodded in confusion.

He crossed his arms on top of the bar and laid his head in between them as he waited for his friend to come back from the toilet, just to try and stop it from spinning. It had been a while since he had gotten this shit-faced at the pub, and he hoped Tom wouldn't get too mad. 

When he looked up, he saw spotted Theodore's dark haired figure sitting a few stools beside him, so Draco scooted over to sit next to his hook up. Draco leaned against his shoulder and slurred some inaudible words.

"What?" he heard Theo say. His voice sounded off, but the drunken boy couldn't quite pinpoint what was wrong.

"I have to tell you something. I've... I've been living with Potter," Draco stopped to try and recompose. "My aunt Andromeda died, ya know, and she was taking care of Lupin's kid, Teddy." All of his words were jumbled, and he wasn't sure Theo understood. He wanted to tell Theo, just in case they went home together that night. He was also way too drunk to control his tongue. 

He felt Theo stand up, almost making Draco fall from the absence of a shoulder to lean on. 

"Hey!" he exclaimed, but before he could say anything else, Theo _disapparated_ from the pub. Oh no, had he said too much? Did Theo think he was dating Potter or something? It wasn't like him to just leave without confrontation.

"I'm back," he heard a raspy voice say against his ear as he felt fingers running up his back. Draco turned on his seat abruptly, thoroughly confused. In front of him was Theodore Nott, with his oh-so-devilish grin that quickly faded once he saw Malfoy's expression.

"What? What's wrong?" Theo asked, a frown etched across his face. He had leaned both hands beside Draco on the bar and was standing close enough for the blonde boy to smell the cigarette he probably had just smoked in the back of the pub. 

"Uh-it's nothing. I just thought I saw you, but it was someone else," Draco answered. All the blood had left his face and his heart was beating wildly. To whom had he told his biggest secret? 

"Well, if it's nothing, then don't worry about it," Theo kissed him softly, and suddenly Draco forgot about what had just happened. Maybe it was the alcohol, or the fuzzy feeling of lust that shot up his stomach, but he pushed the stranger out of his mind and occupied himself in kissing Theo.

"What do you say we go back to my place?" Draco slurred, smiling a half smile, his eyes droopy from sleep and drunkenness. After saying that, he realised he shouldn't have, seeing as he hadn't told _Theo_ about Potter and Ted, but to a stranger.

Theo opened his mouth to answer, but stopped when they heard a loud apparition crack. The two boys were embraced against the bar, lips almost touching, hazy and horny. Draco was still smiling when he turned his head and saw him.

There he was, standing in all his glory and pride. The long, blonde hair that was almost white, piercing grey eyes that held the angriest glare Draco had ever received. He wore a grey woolen cloak that almost touched the ground, and he was leaning on the cane he used ever since the end of the war. There he was, his own father, progenitor, in flesh and blood. Lucius Malfoy.

"Father?" Draco said, heart beating faster than it ever had. 

"Draco," Lucius Malfoy answered. His voice was heavy and striking, and Draco could only imagine what he was doing at the Dragonfire Pub.

 


	9. Bloody Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING* homophobia and violence!  
> also whyyy am i uncapable of writing longer chapters?? fml
> 
> twitter: @yelllowcat

Draco pushed Theo away from him, as if that would make his father erase the previous image of his only son almost kissing a boy. Theo understood the sudden violence and just kept quiet.

"I cannot believe my son is a man-loving pig," Lucius spat, moving towards Draco with surprising agility, given his condition. The man took out his wand and pointed it at his son's neck. At that, Theo exclaimed _"Don't!"_ and pulled out his own wand.

"Nott. You open that digusting mouth of yours again and I'll cut your tongue out," Lucius said, not even turning to look at Theo. "And you - you fucking pansy," he hissed. Draco had been pushed against the bar because of his father's wand poking him his Adam's apple. There were few things he was afraid of in the world, and his dad was one of them. Draco's hands were sweating and he was trembling all over.

"I- I can explain, father. I'm drunk and I was just talking to Th-" his speech was cut off by a backhand slap to his face. His father's hand was loaded with heavy silver rings that cut through his skin when he struck him. Both Tom and Theo were watching in silence, not daring to confront Lucius Malfoy. 

"I'm not here because of you running your hands all over a man. I'm not surprised, though," Lucius answered, eyeing Nott. "I'm here because _you_ opened your huge mouth to one of my butlers, and he came running to tell me. Insolent swine, didn't you think I would ever find out? _You_ , laying with the Potter boy and raising an abomination - the child of a werewolf! How could you?" 

Draco opened his mouth to answer and this time received a punch to his nose. He exclaimed in pain and doubled over, holding his now-bleeding nose. His father moved away from him and turned to Tom, ordering a glass of scotch. Draco didn't know what to do. If he told his father it was all a façade just to regain his approval, would he run off and tell the Ministry? Maybe. Yet, he probably wouldn't disown him if he knew his son wasn't _actually_ gay.

His mind was racing, the alcohol clouding his judgement. His dad wouldn't be so heartless as to make Teddy homeless and an orphan, would he? Draco couldn't bear the thought of losing the kid, again. He could probably convince his father to not tell the Ministry and it would all be just fine. He watched as Lucius gulped down his second glass of scotch in a shot.

"Malfoy, what the fuck?" Theo whispered, grabbing his friend's shoulder. "Is all of that true?"

"Yes. Look, I'm sorry. I'm going to explain everything," Draco said. At that, Lucius turned to his son, eyes bloodshot in fury. 

"Explain? Is there anything to explain other than you're a halfblood loving whore?" He exclaimed. He grabbed Draco by the hair and punched him once across the face. Then punched him again. He received a huge blow to his ribs, which blinded his vision from the amount of pain. He felt the blood slide down his face and drip onto his white shirt. He didn't know if it was the adrenaline or the scotch numbing his senses, but he couldn't feel his face after the second punch. 

"Father, please - it's all an act," he spilled, covering his mouth after he said the secret. He wasn't sure he was going to tell his dad yet, but the alcohol had turned off all his limitations and put Ted at risk. He wouldn't let the Ministry take the kid away. He could not.

"What do you mean it's all an act?" Lucius asked, letting go of his son's hair.

"After Andromeda died, Potter and I had the same rights over the kid. We didn't want to fight over it or split his family again, so we agreed to fake being a couple for both of us to have his guard. I'm not gay, father, I just love Ted and want to give him a chance of having a good family," Draco explained. 

"Hum. Interesting. If you're not gay, then what was this obscenity with Nott when I arrived?" 

"I - Uh, we-" 

"I threw myself on him, Malfoy. Not his fault, he was drunk and I took advantage." Theo defended, standing in front of Draco. To that, his father smirked slightly. 

"In that case, it's not my problem. But, I'm guessing the Ministry will love to hear all about the lies saint Potter has been telling them," Lucius said, smiling evilishly.

"No, father, please don't tell-" he couldn't finish his sentence before his dad disapparated. 

The pub was deathly quiet. Tom had gone to the back of the building, probably because he thought it wasn't his business to meddle. There was blood on the floor where Draco was standing, a mark of what his father had done to him. Draco curled his hand into a fist and punched the wall with all of his strength, pain shooting up his arm. He didn't care about the pain, he deserved it. He deserved all the punches he had received from his father and Crucios from Voldemort and heartbreaks during school. All the pain in the world should be his, for failing Teddy, for failing Potter, and even himself.

"FUCK!" He yelled, punching the wall again and again and again. He didn't want to go runnning to Malfoy Manor and beg for his father not to tell his friends at the Ministry. He still had _some_ dignity, and he was going to solve all of this, for the sake of Ted.

"Hey, HEY!" Theo yelled when he saw Malfoy wouldn't stop. "Calm down, man. 'S okay," He soothed, caressing his friend's back. Draco felt disgusted by someone else's touch and flinched away from it. He reached over the bar, grabbed a bottle of scotch and drank almost half in a gulp. His knuckles were aching and bleeding from punching the wall, and he felt his face swollen all over. 

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he whispered, slamming the bottle on the counter. He slid down against the bar, brought his knees to his chest and started sobbing like a baby. Like a _sissy._ He cried for being a drunken mess. For almost certainly losing Ted. For failing Potter, his Hogwarts arch-nemesis that was now his quite bearable roommate. For Blaise, that now had to live alone and deal with his nightmares by himself.

Draco cried for all the people he cared about. He had fucked up, he _was_ a fuck up himself, and he was still going to fix things but didn't know how to. Theo sat beside him in silence, smoking a cigarette, even if it was prohibited inside the establishment. Draco asked for a puff, and took the burning death in his bloody fingers, inhaling the smoke through his swollen lips. He hurt all over.

"You don't have to apologise, it's okay. Do you want to go home?" Theo whispered. Draco just nodded in answer. "I'm too drunk to apparate. We're taking the Floo. Can you say the address?" Draco just nodded again.

Theodore Nott helped him stand up and together they headed to the Floo chimney that stood against a wall of the pub. Draco mumbled the address, and by Merlin's grace they arrived at the right place.  

Their chimney was located in Draco's room, to which he was thankful. Once they arrived, he just threw himself on the bed, all bloodied and battered. He heard Theo leave the room, probably to summon Potter for help. 

\----------------------------

Harry was sound asleep for the first time in a couple of days when he heard a banging on his door. Confused and drowsy, he stood up, threw on a sweater to shield him from the December cold and opened the door just to see the last person he expected.

"Theodore Nott?" He blinked in confusion. What the hell was that idiot doing there? 

"Yeah yeah, nice to see you too, Potter. Now come, Draco got beat up by his dad and I need your help," Nott said, grabbing Harry by the arm and pulling him towards Draco's room. 

Harry didn't know what he expected, but what he saw was worse. Malfoy was laying on his back, his shirt and pants were all bloodied - and his face looked like he had received _quite_ the beating from Malfoy Senior.

"Bloody hell, Malfoy," he gasped, sitting on the edge of his roommate's bed. He seemed to be asleep already, and stunk of cigarettes and alcohol. "Care to explain what happened?" Harry asked Nott, glaring.

"No time. Let's get this idiot out of these clothes. I think Lucius broke a rib or two of his."

While Harry unbuttoned Malfoy's shirt, Theo took off his friend's pants. Harry wondered what had happened, and hoped it had nothing to do with their secret. He gasped when once he finished unbuttoning the shirt, seeing the huge bruise that was forming on Malfoy's marble white skin, right on top of his right-side ribs. 

Harry carefully took off the bloodied shirt and ran downstairs to the kitchen for some potions. He picked up a Sleeping Draught, Healing Potion, Essence of Dittany and Bruise Removal Paste that had been invented by Fred and George Weasley. He climbed up the steps two by two, completely forgetting that he could wake up Ted. 

He gave Malfoy a few droplets of the Healing Potion and Sleeping Draught to help him sleep easy. They cleaned up the blood on his face and knuckles. Nott told Harry that Lucius was wearing quite the number of rings when he hit his son, explaining the cuts that accompanied the bruises. He used Essence of Dittany on those cuts to help regenerate the skin. 

When they were done, Malfoy was laying in his bed in only his black boxers, had Bruise Removal Paste all over his face and on his ribs to help him recover, and he would probably sleep through the next day. Theodore and Harry headed down to the kitchen for some tea over what had happened. 

Harry listened to the story in silence, just staring at Nott. He couldn't believe Malfoy had opened his goddamned mouth and spilled their secret, especially to his father, who knew a bunch of important people in the Ministry. He felt a turmoil of emotions. He was angry at his idiot roommate, immensely worried for the sake of his new family and sad for Malfoy that he had such an awful father. It had been the nicest couple of months in quite some time, and Harry's prospects of having this steady life last at least six months had just gone down the drain. 

He wasn't going to give up on Ted that easily, of course. He would call Hermione in the morning to ask for help, and would do everything in his power to keep the baby. 

Physically and emotionally exhausted, Harry announced he was going to bed. He offered Nott a mattress so that he could sleep in Malfoy's room with him, yet he refused, said he wanted to go home, but would visit the next day. After bidding goodbye and picking up his thick leather jacket, Theodore Nott left. 

Harry stood in silence in the middle of their living room for a while. He admired their Christmas tree, decorated in both Slytherin and Gryffindor colours and smiled to himself as he remembered the bickering he and Malfoy had over the goddamned decorations. Harry turned the lights off and headed upstairs. 

He slowly opened Theo's door just to check on him. Jinx was sleeping at his feet, snoring lightly. They both looked quite warm. Harry smiled to himself once more, shut the door, and finally went to bed, thinking about how he wasn't going to let a drunken confession ruin what he now had. 

 

 


End file.
